WRD Control Systems Engineer

#wecleanthewater

The Organization

The District is the largest wastewater agency in the State of Nevada, serving more than 260,000 business and residential accounts. The majority of our residential and commercial customers are within the Las Vegas Valley, which includes the world famous resort corridor known as the "Las Vegas Strip." We also serve the communities of Blue Diamond, Indian Springs, Laughlin, Moapa Valley, and Searchlight. We have two water resource centers; Flamingo Water Resource Center, and Laughlin Water Resource Center.  All other facilities are treatment facilities.

The District's collection (network of pipes and pumps) system totals more than 2,100 miles of pipeline and 23 pumping stations to deliver the wastewater from the homes and businesses to one of the six treatment facilities.  An especially important aspect of  our operation is the treatment facility serving the Las Vegas Valley.  The largest of our facilities, (and in Nevada) the Flamingo Water Resource Center, ensures the wastewater meets high treatment levels allowing the reclaimed water to be discharged to the Las Vegas Wash and back into Lake Mead.  Lake Mead is the drinking water source for more than 95% of the population and businesses in Clark County.  The stringent treatment standards are set to protect the community's drinking water supply as well as the recreational uses of Lake Mead and the downstream communities along the Colorado River.

District Formation

Created by judicial decree in 1954, the District operates as a general improvement district under Nevada Revised Statutes. Originally titled the Clark County Sanitation District, wastewater treatment operations began in 1956. Through a series of legislative actions, our service boundaries were set to include all unincorporated areas of Clark County. The purpose of the District is to ensure the collection, treatment and reclamation of wastewater so it can safely be returned it to the environment. We have been granted the authority to levy taxes, sell bonds, create assessment districts, and the right of eminent domain. The District's bond covenants provide that rates and charges be sufficient to cover operation and maintenance costs and general expenses, including principal and interest payments on outstanding bonds.  In January 2003, we changed our name to the Clark County Water Reclamation District to better reflect our mission and purpose.

Governance

The Clark County Water Reclamation District is governed by the Clark County Commissioners, a seven member board, who by statute serve as the ex-officio Board of Trustees (the Board), for the District.  The Board establishes policy, approve budgets and conduct public hearings to establish the rates and fees charged by us.  We bill our rate payers, collect revenue and administer operation and capital funds. While given the statutory authorization to assess ad valorem taxes, the District has not done so, relying upon fees and charges to fund the operations, maintenance and capital programs. We have the authority to levy taxes, sell bonds, create assessment districts, and the right of eminent domain.